When I moved back to Ohio a year ago, I spent a weekend in Cleveland, where I grew up and where “A Christmas Story” was filmed. I made the rounds of places from my childhood in the 50s, including the house where this movie was filmed. In case you’ve somehow managed to never see it, the movie tells the story of nine-year-old Ralphie Parker in the 1940s. He needs to convince his parents, teacher, and […]
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Hanukkah and World Peace
Hanukkah began last evening, making today the first full day of Hanukkah 2023. Most folks know Hanukkah as a Jewish holiday in late November or early December. Like the Christian Easter, the date shifts from year to year. The date for Hanukkah is based on a fluctuating date on the Jewish calendar. Praying for Peace and Respect In response to the recent spike in attacks on our Jewish neighbors in this country, I have chosen […]
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A Wonderful Life?
We have three men to thank for the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Philip Van Doren Stern, author of the short story that inspired the movie; Frank Capra, the immigrant who produced the film; Jimmy Stewart, aka George Bailey. Before the release of this perennial favorite, none of them were having a wonderful life. The 1930s and 1940s, the decades in which the short story and the movie first appeared in public, were challenging […]
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Elder William and Mary Brewster
I discipline churchgoers with godly lessons and sharp words if they do not change their ways. My goal is to open their hearts so that they seek forgiveness. (William Brewster) William and Mary Brewster are my great x 12 grandparents. While doing research for the two historical novels I wrote with them as the main characters, I spent as much time in the 16th and 17th centuries as I did in the 21st one. The […]
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Armistice Day
In 2018, on Armistice Day (now known as Veterans Day), I was sailing toward New York on the Queen Mary 2. So much has happened since then. We’ve changed presidents and struggled through a global pandemic that is still infecting people. We’ve watched in horror as Putin invaded Ukraine and now Hammas has started the war between Gaza and Israel that is claiming thousands of innocent lives. Armistice Day 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of a […]
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